The group trying to oust Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton from office has announced it’s restarting the signature-gathering process, saying putting the issue before voters in June will increase their odds of success.
Recall backers had originally planned to force a recall election against Becton this autumn, but are now looking toward 2026. As they relaunch, one of their most high-profile supporters, family members of Antioch murder victim Alexis Gabe, have parted ways with the recall team, although they still support recalling Becton.
The recall campaign, founded in part by crime victims’ families who are unsatisfied with Becton’s transparency and prosecution record, first filed the necessary paperwork and began collecting recall signatures in March. For a special election to be held this fall they needed about 73,000 signatures from registered Contra Costa County voters by Sept. 25.
On Sun. Aug., 24, the team announced on social media it was abandoning its previous timeline, refiling the paperwork and restarting the signature gathering process. Once the county approves the new petition, which the recall team anticipates will happen soon, they’ll have 160 days to get the roughly 73,000 signatures.
“Strategists agree this shift increases the likelihood of success by maximizing the community engagement and aligning with a high-turnout election,” the team said. “We believe this path offers the best opportunity to restore safety and public trust.”
In a comment on Facebook, the recall team acknowledged that its first signature gathering effort, which took place mostly in east Contra Costa County, was unsuccessful, and said those who had already signed the petition would have to re-sign for their signature to count.
“We were not able to get enough signatures the first time unfortunately,” the recall team wrote. “So we are switching strategies and have new ways to approach this. Since we are refiling, we are indeed starting all over again and will need signatures again.”
By attempting to recall Becton in the June primary election, the group would avoid “the need for a costly special election,” it said. The group’s original plan to hold a special election this fall would have cost Contra Costa County an estimated $8 million — a fact Becton has been vocal about in her campaign to remain in office.
Diana Becton recall supporters say she isn’t enforcing Prop. 36; she disagrees
Jack Belgrade, a Martinez resident who is a spokesperson and volunteer for the recall team, told Richmondside that the team has served Becton with a new Notice of Intention to circulate a recall petition and filed that notice with the Contra Costa County elections office. Once the county approves the notice, which the recall team expects will happen soon, they plan to start collecting signatures again, Belgrade said.
Belgrade, a supporter of President Donald Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and plans to open an immigration detention center in the Bay Area, said that recall backers have diverse political affiliations, and the “only thing they have in common is that Becton failed them.”
“Becton is going to try and spin this as a Republican lead effort, but that is not true,” Belgrade said. “This is a growing coalition of people that support Proposition 36 and want safety and justice for the victims who she’s ignored.”
Becton opposed Prop. 36, which passed last year with strong support from Contra Costa voters, and has increased penalties for certain drug and theft crimes. On social media, the recall team’s proponents have repeatedly accused Becton of not enforcing laws passed under Prop. 36.
In an editorial published in July in an east county newspaper, The Pioneer, Becton acknowledged that while she opposed Prop. 36 when it was put to vote, she has followed the will of the voters since it passed and has enforced it “fully and fairly.” She cited data showing her office has charged 84% of those arrested for theft with prior convictions and 83% of those accused of drug offenses with prior convictions since the proposition went into effect.
Becton, an El Sobrante resident, was first appointed Contra Costa County’s District Attorney in 2017 and has since won two reelection bids. If a June recall election is held and is successful, she would have to step down after the results are verified in July. Voters wouldn’t decide who would succeed her; that would be decided by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. Becton’s term is set to end in January 2028, and she hasn’t announced if she intends to seek reelection if the recall is put to a vote and fails.
Becton has made some public appearances at small events in Richmond to defend her record and sway voters against signing a recall petition. In a July 28 Facebook post, her campaign wrote, “What’s at stake is bigger than any one election. It’s about protecting real public safety solutions, and standing up to those who want to take us backward. DA Becton has stood up for equity, justice, and real public safety. Now we must stand up for her.”
Becton’s recall defense campaign manager, Champagne Brown, told Richmondside in an email that “the campaign has no response to the proponents starting over.”
If a Becton recall is placed on the ballot, she’ll be the third Bay Area district attorney to face a recall in recent years. Last November, former Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was recalled and in 2022 so was former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
While the first effort to gather enough signatures to hold a Price recall election was successful, it took two signature-gathering tries to get a Boudin recall on the ballot.
Boudin, Price and Becton all belong to the Prosecutors Alliance of California, the country’s first reform-minded law enforcement association. Its mission statement is to “improve the effectiveness, fairness, and compassion of their state and local prosecutorial systems.”
Recall proponents have said this approach is too lenient. In their March notice to circulate a recall petition the Becton recall team said it’s concerned about a “persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity,” as well as “empty promises” and a “lack of transparency” from Becton.
Becton has denied accusations of being soft of crime and has touted her accomplishments, such as creating a human trafficking unit, a task force that collaborates with other agencies to prosecute organized crime, and a unit that investigates long-unsolved homicide cases.
While Antioch murder victim’s family parts ways with recall, other crime victims’ families are involved
As the recall team launches its second try to force a recall election, Gwyn Gabe, who started the original recall effort, has left. Gabe, who is Alexis Gabe’s father, and Jessica Frances Gabe Zuasola, her cousin, both were part of the original 10 proponents who signed the first recall petition. Both family members had been pushing for Becton to charge the mother of Marshall Jones, the man believed to have killed Alexis Gabe, as an accessory to the crime, but Becton said there was insufficient evidence to charge her.
In their social media announcement regarding their intention to refile, the recall team called the separation with the Gabe family was amicable.
In a social media post, Gwyn Gabe said the family still supports a Becton recall, even though they are no longer part of the recall campaign.
“We still advocate for her recall and encourage you to continue supporting this vital cause,” Gabe said. “Our departure from the group stems from a desire to no longer participate in the recall group itself.”
Gabe also said in the post he will “refrain from providing further details to avoid any potential accusations.”
The group’s recall notice, which by law must be signed by 10 proponents, shows that five people who were proponents of the first recall petition have signed the new recall petition. These people, along with some new signers, are mostly family members of homicide victims who feel Becton did not properly prosecute those charged in the killings. Among them are the family of murder victim Otilio Nico Martinez, who was 18 when he was shot dozens of times in Richmond in September of 2016.
Belgarde said the recall team has more than 100 volunteers signed up to help. These include Richard Schlackman, a Phoenix-based consultant who worked on the Price and Boudin recalls. Belgarde said Schlackman has lent the Becton recall team his services for free. Schlackman declined to comment for this story.
Recall effort plans to deploy paid signature-gatherers
Belgarde said that while the recall effort has been backed by volunteers, the group plans to bring in paid signature gatherers soon. Both the Price and Boudin recall campaigns paid signature gatherers as well.
Money to pay signature gatherers will come from contributions made to the group, which has raised more than $60,000, according to campaign finance filings. The vast majority of these contributions have come from local law enforcement unions, with the Antioch Police Officers Association donating $5,000 and the Contra Costa’s Sheriff’s Deputy Association donating $50,000.
The sheriff’s union has long lobbied against Becton, opposing her reelection campaigns in 2018 and 2022. In 2021 Becton charged Contra Costa Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Hall with felony assault for fatally shooting 33-year-old Laudemer Arboleda in Danville, and Hall was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison. The sheriff’s union donated about $210,000 to oppose Becton’s reelection campaign in 2022.
Efforts to oppose Becton’s recall have received contributions through two political action committees: Safer Contra Costa, Opposing the Recall of Diana Becton, and Stand with DA Becton Stop the Recall. The committees have received more than $30,000 in contributions.
Sacramento-based Smart Justice California Action Fund, a criminal justice reform lobbying group, has contributed $15,000.
Other notable contributors include U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon’s campaign and Becton, who each contributed $1,000. Boudin, now executive director of the Criminal Law & Justice Center at UC Berkeley Law, and Richmond City Council member Soheila Bana each contributed $500.
Richmond resident Ahmad Anderson, who has said he intends to run for mayor in the June election, West Contra Costa Unified School District board trustee Jamela Smith-Folds, and Richmond Chamber of Commerce board member John Ziesenhenne each contributed $200.
